For 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin, the big issue with Thursday night football is that the short turnaround could mean players are more susceptible to injuries.

"There are some things that just don’t make sense to me,” Boldin said, via the San Jose Mercury News. “I mean if you’re so concerned about player safety, then why do you have every team in the league playing on Thursday night when they just competed on a Sunday, knowing how difficult it is for guys to get back to being healthy after playing on Sunday? Guys really don’t feel like they’re back till probably Thursday or Friday to prepare for that next week.”

And while Boldin says that the league has made strides in some areas -- like having neurologists clear players before they can return to the field following a head injury -- he also thinks some of this is about the NFL "covering their butt."

"The league can say they’re doing things to protect guys, but I’m not one of the guys buying it," he said.

This is a variant of another argument: If commissioner Roger Goodell is serious about reducing injuries, how does he reconcile that with conversations about going to an 18-game regular-season schedule?

You can find the answer to that question above, too: Expanding the brand, exposure and, ultimately, money.

Ryan Wilson has been an NFL writer for CBS Sports since June 2011, and he's covered five Super Bowls in that time. Ryan previously worked at AOL's FanHouse from start to finish, and Football Outsiders...
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